Simon Christopher Danczuk (; born 24 October 1966) is a British author and former
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) who represented the constituency of
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
between
2010 and
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
. He has co-written two books, ''Smile for the Camera: The Double Life of Cyril Smith'' and ''Scandal at Dolphin Square''.
Early life and career
Danczuk grew up in
Hapton,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
. He began his working life at the age of sixteen in a factory making gas fires, before moving to the chemical company
ICI. Whilst working, he studied at night school and gained qualifications he had missed at secondary school. He then gained a place as a
mature student
An adult learner or, more commonly, a mature student, is a person who is older and is involved in forms of learning. Adult learners fall in a specific criterion of being experienced, and do not always have a high school diploma. Many of the adult ...
at
Lancaster University where he studied Economic Sociology and Politics.
Danczuk became involved in the
Labour movement
The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other.
* The trade union movement ...
after joining the
Labour Party through the
GMB trade union in the late 1980s. In 1993, at the age of 27, he was elected as a councillor to
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is the local authority of Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. From 2020 to 2021, the Mayor of Blackb ...
and served for six years, with portfolios including economic development and education.
In 1999 Danczuk became the founding director of a research, public affairs and communications consultancy called Vision Twentyone alongside
Ruth Turner, who would later become Director of Government Relations within
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
's Downing Street office. He held this position until his election to Parliament in 2010. Danczuk also has held research positions at ''
The Big Issue in the North'',
Opinion Research Corporation,
Bolton Bury TEC and worked for academics at
Lancaster University.
Danczuk founded the Necessary Group, a campaign group of businessmen and politicians which campaigned prior to the expected
referendums
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
for an elected
Regional Assembly for the
North West of England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
.
Danczuk was selected in early 2007 to be the Rochdale Labour Party's
Prospective Parliamentary Candidate.
He received death threats during the selection process, including a funeral wreath with flowers spelling 'Simon' and a four-foot cross being anonymously sent to his work office.
Parliamentary career
Danczuk was first elected to Parliament in the
2010 general election. He unseated incumbent
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
Paul Rowen and secured a majority of 889 votes. Danczuk won the seat for Labour despite a microphone picking up Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...
calling Rochdale resident Gillian Duffy a "
bigoted woman" on a visit to the constituency during the campaign.
In May 2011, Danczuk made a criminal complaint to
Essex Police about Liberal Democrat MP and
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change was a British government cabinet position from 2008 to 2016. The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008 when then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown ...
,
Chris Huhne, after it was alleged that Huhne had asked his wife, economist
Vicky Pryce
Vasiliki "Vicky" Pryce (' Kourmouzi ( el, Βασιλική Κουρμούζη); born 15 July 1952) is a Greek-born British economist and a former Joint Head of the United Kingdom's Government Economic Service.
She is currently the Chief Econom ...
, to take his penalty points for a speeding offence in 2003. On 3 February 2012, Huhne became the first Cabinet Minister in British political history to be forced from office as a
result of criminal proceedings. Huhne was later tried and imprisoned, as was Vicky Pryce.
Danczuk was re-elected as the
Labour Party MP for Rochdale at the
2015 general election, substantially increasing his majority from 889 to 12,442 over the second-placed UKIP candidate.
Danczuk was critical of
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
's leadership of the party following his election as leader on 12 September 2015. The ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
'' described him as Corbyn's "most outspoken internal critic".
[ ]
Danczuk was particularly active investigating historical allegations of child abuse against politicians. His campaigning attracted significant media attention and as a result he was one of the most high-profile backbench MPs. In March 2014 ''Smile for the Camera: The Double Life of Cyril Smith'' was published, an exposé of child sexual abuse committed by former Rochdale MP
Cyril Smith
Sir Cyril Richard Smith (28 June 1928 – 3 September 2010) was a prominent British politician who after his death was revealed to have been a prolific serial sex offender against children. A member of the Liberal Party, he was Member of ...
, written by Danczuk along with researcher and campaigner Matthew Baker. The book was serialised in the ''Daily Mail'' and was named Political Book of the Year for 2014 by the ''
Sunday Times''.
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA)
During a Home Affairs Select Committee hearing in July 2014, Danczuk called for
Leon Brittan
Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, (25 September 193921 January 2015) was a British Conservative politician and barrister who served as a European Commissioner from 1989 to 1999. As a member of Parliament from 1974 to 1988, he serv ...
, Home Secretary between 1983 and 1985, to make public what he knew about a dossier of allegations against politicians presented to him by
Geoffrey Dickens (1931 – 1995, MP until 1995), which could identify several historic child sex abusers.
The Home Office stated the dossier had not been retained in their files. Former
Director of Public Prosecutions Lord Macdonald Lord Macdonald may refer to:
* The High Chief of the Scottish Clan Donald
* Baron Macdonald in the Peerage of Ireland
* Ken Macdonald
Kenneth Donald John Macdonald, Baron Macdonald of River Glaven, (born 4 January 1953) is a British lawyer an ...
said the circumstances in which the dossier had gone missing were alarming, and recommended an inquiry into what happened.
[ ]
Prime Minister
David Cameron subsequently asked the
Home Office Permanent Secretary to investigate what happened to the missing dossier. The same month, Danczuk wrote to the
Director of Public Prosecutions asking for a review of the decision not to investigate certain historical allegations of sexual abuse made against senior Westminster politicians.
Danczuk's investigation significantly contributed to the decision of the government to set up the
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales was an inquiry examining how the country's institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. It was announced by the British Home Secretar ...
, a statutory inquiry under the
Inquiries Act 2005
The Inquiries Act 2005 (c 12) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. According to the explanatory notes, published by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Act "is intended to provide a comprehensive statutory framework for ...
, which opened on 9 July 2015. During the investigation it was revealed that former
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
leader
David Steel
David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...
learned about Cyril Smith's behaviour in 1979 but did nothing about it, and later nominated him for a knighthood. As a result, on 25 February 2020 he resigned from the
Liberal Democrats and resigned from the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
on 27 March 2020.
For his investigative work on child abuse, Danczuk was named 'Campaigner of the Year' by the
Political Studies Association
The Political Studies Association (PSA) is a learned society in the United Kingdom which exists to develop and promote the study of politics. It is the leading association in its field in the United Kingdom, with an international membership includi ...
in November 2014 and won the
Contrarian Prize The Contrarian Prize is an annual prize which has been awarded either annually or bi-annually since its establishment in 2012. The prize promotes the contribution of non-conformist thinking to the British public debate by recognising individuals who ...
in June 2015.
Suspension by the Labour party and resignation
In December 2015, Danczuk's membership of the
Labour Party was suspended following reports he had exchanged explicit messages with a 17-year-old girl. Danczuk apologised for his behaviour, which he described as "inappropriate and stupid", and said the incident occurred during an extremely low point of his life after his second marriage had collapsed. Danczuk was not found to have broken the law and was not expelled from the party, but the
National Executive Committee of the Labour Party
The National Executive Committee (NEC) is the governing body of the UK Labour Party, setting the overall strategic direction of the party and policy development. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affil ...
ruled that he would not be endorsed as a Labour Party candidate for the snap
2017 United Kingdom general election. He resigned from the party in May 2017 and contested Rochdale as an independent candidate where came in fifth place as
Labour Party candidate
Tony Lloyd
Sir Anthony Joseph Lloyd (born 25 February 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who has discontinuously served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1983, currently as the MP for Rochdale since 2017. He was MP for Stretford from 1983 to 1 ...
won the seat. After the result, he said that he would not stand for election again.
Personal life
Danczuk has been married twice. Both marriages ended in divorce, and he has two children from each marriage.
Books by Simon Danczuk
* Danczuk, Simon and Baker, Matthew (2014). ''Smile for the Camera: The Double Life of Cyril Smith''.
Biteback Publishing
Biteback Publishing is a British publisher based in London concentrating mainly on political titles. It was incorporated, as a private limited company with share capital, in 2009. It was jointly owned by its managing director Iain Dale and by M ...
.
Extract* Danczuk, Simon and Smith, Daniel (2022). ''Scandal at Dolphin Square''.
The History Press Ltd.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danczuk, Simon
1966 births
21st-century English male writers
Alumni of Lancaster University
Alumni of Cartmel College, Lancaster
Councillors in Lancashire
English male non-fiction writers
English non-fiction writers
English people of Polish descent
Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Living people
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Rochdale
People from Rochdale
Political sex scandals in the United Kingdom
Sexual abuse victim advocates
UK MPs 2010–2015
UK MPs 2015–2017